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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 13, 1913)
Mm MENS CHOSEN - l ITW APT! A T T11V TKfWWTPTt f xK JPl i - lllustrfcticnsfry- DQMJXrWIN II SYNOPSIS. Hill Cannon, the bonanza klriK, nml his aaiiKlit'T Ucii'. who had panned un Mm Corm-llim Hyan'g ball nt Han Frtnirlitco to accompany hir father, urrlvn at Antelopo Uomlnlik Ilyan ends on bin mother lo b'K a ball Invitation for his wife, nyd I H'fiiHciI The ditermlned old lady renmeH (o recognize hi r daiiKhter-ln-lnw Dotn Inlrlf ) .id luen tropped Into a iiHirrliiKd with Ilirnlrc Jvcrson, a HteiiOKtapher. several rn hid Keillor Him wimndcrn hli money. lf-y liawi f rofjiiont quarrel, and tie HllpM away. Cannon nnd hla daughter arc Htioutd In at Antelope Dointnlclc ttvan Ir rescued from storm In tineon melons condition and brought to Antelope lmtcl Antelope In cut off by wtortn. I loan Cannon i ure Immlnlck back to life Tv o uftic I; tr Mirnlcc dim-over In a jaM 1 lii- l unhand In and writes letter tryltiK to kiimotii over dlffletlltlci between litem Iirmlnlck at hint Is able to Join fellow snowbound prisoner In hotel par lor He iikh temper over talk of llufortl, an ottor After time week, end of Im nrlflorimi nt Ih pc-ii TelccraniH and mall arrive 1'omlnlik Ket letter from wife Tolls lice lit dnexn't love wife, and never 3ld 8tr rrnbii itiil people begin to depart Hohc and Iiomlnlrk emhraiie, father fiee them (it)i d( iiiihkIh an explanation Knic'n brother fjene Ir made miiiuiKr of ranch, and U to Ket It If he Htay Hober a year. Cannon espM-me rivmpnthy for Doml tllckV port lion In talk with Hose Dotnl nlck return home Herny exertH herxelf to please him but he Ik Indlfforetit Cnn lon call on Mm Hvan They dleiiHM Doti, Inlrk'n marriage difficulties, and Cannon' HUKKestB buying off Horny. Domlnlck rock to park on Punday with Iterny nml family, kch Mis Cannon. Iiowh to her unci slnrlfi unearlne In Horny. CHAPTER Xllle-(Contlnued.) Vet, to Herny, this hectic prospect looked gray; nil color Boomed sucked from It. It appeared pulo and alien, Its comfortnblc Intimacy gone. She vvnn llkb a stranger wnlklng In ti strange plncc, a forlorn, remote land, where sho felt miserable nnd home sick The BenBo of being dazed wiih passing from her. Wnlklng forward with bhort, careful atepB, alio waB Blowly coming to the meaning of her discovery ndjustlng horsolf to It, realizing Kb significance. 8ho had an uncomfortnble sensntlon of not being ablo to control the mtiBcleu round her mouth, bo that If spoken to sho would have Imd difficulty In answorlng. ""d would have been quite unable to jimlle. An open oarrlago paHsed her, nnd Alio drew aside, then mcchaulcally looked after It as ,lt rolled forward. There was a single figure In It a woman. Herny could hco her head over the lowered hood, and the little para aol she held, white with it black lace cover and having a Joint In the handle. Her eyes followed this receding head, moving bo evenly agalnat the back ground of trees. It soared along with out sinking or rising, with the even, forward night of a bird, punned Han nah and JobIi and llnzel, turnlnt; to drop on them quick looks, which seemed, from Its elevated position and the shortness of the Inspection, to have something of disdain In them. Ab tho carriage drew near Domlnlck, who wnlked at tho head of tho line with Pearl by the hand, Horny saw the liend move, lean forward, and thwi, as tho vehicle overhauled and passed tho young man, turn at right nnglca and bow to him. The wheel almost brushed his shoulder. Ho drew back from It with a start and lifted his hat. Hazel, who was walking JiiBfln front nt Horny, turned nnd projecting her lips so that they stood out from her face In a rcll circle, hlBScd through them "Old Lady Ryan!" nnd then In a allghtly louder key. "You tnko a hatchet and I'll take n BIIW, -And we'll cut off tho head of my niothor-ln-law." V ' '! CHAPTER XIII. 1 The Root of All Evil. Tho conversation with her old friend 'had upset Mrs. Hynn. TheBC, were grievances sho did not talk of to all tho world, and the luxury of such plain apeaklng was paid for by n re awakened smart. Tho numb actio of n sorrow was always with her, but her 'ConsclouBnesa of It wna dulled In tho diversion 6f- every dny's occupations. 'Drlnglng It to tho surface this way ignvo It a new vltullty, and when tho iconversatlon was over and tho visitor gone It refused to Biibsldo Into its old place. She went alowly up stairs, hearing the low murmur of volcos front tho sitting-room where Cornelia ami Jack Duffy we:o Btlll secluded. Kven tho thought of that"atlsfnctorlly-buddlng romance did not cheer her ns It had done earlier In the day. As she had told Cannon, she wns not tho Woman sho had boon. Old ago wiih coming on her and with It a softening of her Iron nature. h wanted her aon, her Hon Jamln, dearly beloved with all the forces of her maturity nn IiIh father Jisd been with nil the glow or her youth In her own room alio threw asldu die lace curtains, and looking opt on the. splendor of tho nfternoon. deter mined to oek cheer in tho open air Like all Callfornlana she had a be lief In the healing beneficence of air and sunlight. Ab the sun had soothed Herny of her sense of care so now It wooed her enemy also to Book solace In Kb balm. She rang for tho serv ant and ordered tho carriage. A fow minutes later, clad In rich enshrouding , l)ltick, Bho slowly made her way down stairs and out to tho sidewalk whore IK afcOPaSMHL .A, vrSfSftj rjirjs. ' ffujf 5Th KTyffi i Aii&or.o'TIfE F2QNEER. ..M Cofiyriglit IWSjijrTjjcBODDS-MEDniLL CO. tho victoria,' glittering In the trim perfection of Its appointments and drawn by a pair of well-rnatehed client nutR, stood nt tho curb. The man on the box touched his hat with respc'rul greeting and the Chinese butler, who had accompanied her down the steps, arranged Uu rug over her knecB nnd stepped back with tho friendly "good-b," which Ib the poIltoneHB of his race. They respected, feared and liked her. Every domestic who had over worked In Delia Hyatt's Bervlco from the first "hired girl" of her curly Shasta (leys 10 the staff that now knew tho rigors of her dominion, had found her ;i Just and generous If exacting mistress. Hhe hnd never been unfair, hho had never been unkind. She was one of themselves and sho knew how to manage thorn, how to mnke then understand that she was master, and Unit no drones were per mitted In her hive; how to make them feel that sho had a heart that sympa thized with them, not us crcntures of nit alien claus remotely removed from her own, but ns fellow beings, having the snmu passions, griefs nnd hopes ns herself. Ah tho carriage rolled forward Bho settled back against tho cushioned scat and let her eyes roam over the prospect. It was the heart of tho aft ernoon, still untouched by chill, not a breath stirring. PnBBlng up tho long drive which leads to the park, the dust raised by wheels hung ruddy In the nlr. Tho long shadows of trees striped tho roadway In an Irrogular black pat tern, picked out with Bpntterlngs of siinslilno, like u Hpllled, gold liquid. Helta of fragranco, tho breaths of (towering shrubs, extended from bushy coppices, and sometimes the keen, acrid odor of tho eucalyptUB tobo on tho nlr. From this lnne of entrance tho park spread fan-like Into a still, gracious pleasnnco. The rich, golden light slept on level stretches of turf and thick mound-shnped groups of trocB. Tho throb of mubIc the thin, othorenl music of out-of-doors swelled and sank; tho voices of chil dren roso clear nnd ilno from compli cated distances, and once the raucous cry of a poacock split tho quietness, Bcemlng to break through tho pictorial serenity of the lovely, 1- onmy Bcone. Mrs. Hynn sat without movement, her face set In u sphinx-like profundity of expression. I'eoplo In passing car riages bowed to her but she did not see them and their snlutes went unro turned. Her vision wns bent bnck on Bcenos of her paBt so far removed from what tnndo up the present, so different ant! rmoto from her life to day, that It did not soem ns If the same perspoctlvo c( tld Includo two such extrcmoB. Shu was thinking this as the car riage swept Into tho wider reach of tho drive noar tho band stand. Though the music wns still throbbing on tho air, people wero already leaving. Mra. Hynn let her uninterested glance touch tho hatted heads of tho women and then movo forward to tho man who headed tho column. Ho hold by tho hand a pretty, fnlr-halrod child, who, leaning out from his restraining grasp, walked a littlo before him, looking back laughingly Into his face. Mrs. Ryan's eyes, alighting on his back, be came suddenly charged with a tierce fixity of attention. Tho carriage over hauled mm anil before no looked up she leaned forward and saw his profile, Lasted tho brow marked by u frown, child'B gay pi tittle causing no rospon slvo stullo to break tho brooding grav ity that held his fontuto. As he felt tho vibration of tho wheel at his Bhouldor he started nsldo and looked up. When ho recognized his mother IiIh fnco reddened, and, with n quick Binilo. he lifted his lint. Her returning saluto was serious, almost tragically sombor. Then tho vlctorln swept on, nnd he nnd tho child, neither for it moment speaking, looked after the boutiutpd head that soared awny before- thorn with a level, forward vi bration, llko n floating bird, tho little purnaol held stltlly erect on Ita Jointed handle. As Mrs. Hynn pnsaed down the long park ontrnnco alio thought no moro of tho past. Tho sight of her son, head JJliL an Hour. tho lng tho file of his wife's relations, his faco sot In an expression of heavy de jection, scattered her dreams of retro spect with a shnttcrlng impact. The old woman's fnco wna dark with passion, hor palollpa set Into a tight lino. Money I Monoy might mako trouble and bring disappoint ment, but It would talk to those peo ple. Money was nil they were after. Well, they could have It! Sho let three days go by beforo she made the move sho hnd determined on ton minutes after she had passed Dom lnlck. Tho Wednesday morning fol lowing that Sunday sho put on her outdoor things und, dispensing with tho carriage, wont down town on tho car to see Hill Cannon. Tho Honanzn King's office was on tho first floor of n building owned by himself on 0110 of tho finest Montgom ery street corners. With her approach hernlded by n rustling of rich stuffs and a subdued punting, sho entered the oflloc. Sho did not waste time boating about tho bush. Their talk lasted nearly ah hour Hefore tho In terview ended they had threshed out evory nspect of tho matter under dis cussion. There would bo no loose ends or Blighted details in any piece of work which engaged tho attention of this bold and energetic pair of con spirators. Two days after this momentous com bination of her enemies, Horny was sitting In the parlor of her flat, writing a letter. It was three' o'clock In the afternoon nnd bIiu had Just dressed herBelf for her dally Jaunt down town. She did not hear a foot ascending the BtnlrB, till n tap on the door-post of tho room inndo her turn and ejacu late a startled "Come In!" The door that led from the parlor to tho hall hntl been removed, nnd a bamboo por tiere hung In tho opening. A Inrgc mnsculine hand thrust apart the hang ing strands, and mil Cannon, hut In hand, confident nnd yet apologetic, en tered tho room. She looked nt him Inquiringly with Bomethin" of wariness and distrust lit her face. She remembered him to be a friend of the nynns', and alio had arrived at the stage when any friend of the Ry- tins' was an enemy of hers. Sho looked at the old man guardedly, ready for an attack and hrnolng herself to meet It. 'You'll pardon this intrusion, won't you?" lie said In a deep, friendly voice. She looked up at him nnd made a slight Inclination of her head an she had seen actresses do on the stage. "Won't you sit down, Mr. Cannon?" she added. "Now, let me make my apologies for coming. In the first plnce, I'm nn old man. We've got a few privileges to compensate us for the Iosb of so much that's good. Don't you think that's fair, Mrs. Ryan?" Herny liked him; There was some thing so ensy and affable in IiIb man ner, something that made her feel he would never censure her for her past, or, In fact, think about It at nil. "I'm sure I'm very glad you camo," sho said politoly; "any friend of Dora Inlck's Is welcome hero." "Will you let mo apeak frankly, Mrs. Rynn?" "Yes," said Herny. "Co right ahead." "Mrs. Ryan will mako you a rich woman, Independent of any one, tho monoy yours to, do with as you llko, If you'll consent to the few condi tions she exacts." "What nro they?" "That you will leave your husbnnd for a year and nt tho end of that time nak him to glvo you your lib erty, ho suing you for divorce on tho ground of desertion." "It's a brlbo," sho said slowly, "a hrlbo to lcavo my husband." "Oh, I wouldn't say that," ho an swereil with a deprecating shrug "Call It a deal, a settlement. Tio terms urn oasy and favorable. You'll not find 0110 of them unjust or unfair You'ro to leave tho city,' going prefer ably to Chicago or Now York, and staying there for tho period of doser tlon. Seven thousand dollars will be Bet aside for your oxponses. At the end of the year you aro to wrlto to Domlnlck telling him you no longer want to live with him and nBklng him to glvo you your freedom. Aftor tho divorce Is granted tho Bum of fifty thousand dollars will bo handed over to you, tho one condition being that you will leave tho country and go to Europe. It Is understood, of coifrso, that tho matter's to bo kept a secret from Domlnlck. Ho must think that you are uctlng entiroly from your own free will. He mustn't guess IiIh mother's had any part In It." Herny lifted her head and looked at him. Tho color was now burning In her cheeks and her eyea Beomcd to hold till tho vitality of hor rigid face. "You toll Mrs. Ryan," sho said slow ly, "that I'll Ho dend In my coflln be foro I'll tako hor monoy and leavo my husband " "Well, I'm 11 patient man, and ev erything comes to him who wnlts." Sho looked over hor shoulder with a slight add suillo. "Not everything," Bho anld. "So long," ho answered, giving his lint a rarowoll wavo nt her. "I've en joyed meeting you and hope we'll soon meet ngnln In n more friendly way lltista Mannna, Seuorn!" She wheeled so that sho faced him and gnvo 11 short nod, then watched hi in ns ho walked to tho door. Hero ho turned, bowed deeply and respect fully, and passed out Into tho hall, the bamboo strands of the portloro clash ing togothor behind him. A moment Inter she heard tho bang of tho street door. Her two predominant sensations wero rngo and triumph. It deoponod her detestation of tho Rynns, and nt tho same time gnvo her a senso of Intimacy with them. And it showed hor hor power. Standing In tho mid dlo of the room with her eyes still T staring at tho now motionless portloro strands, she saw, stretching away Into a limitless glided distance, her nego tiations with her husband's family. If tholr desire to rupture tho marriage took them thus far, where might It not take them? It was not tho Ryans nlone who wanted to buy her off. It was the Cannons as wall. They not only want ed Domlnlck to get rid of her; they wanted him to get rid of her so that he could marry Roso Cannon. Tho other girl wns behind it all, accounted for the participation of tho Bonanza King, accounted probably for tho whole move the pink and white girl In the French clothes who had all her life had everything and now wanted Horny iverson's husband. CHAPTER XIV. The Moonlight Night. A fow nights nfter this, there was a full moon. Domlnlck, walking homo from tho bank, saw it nt the end of tho atreet's vlstn, d large, yellowish pink disk floating up Into tho twilight. Tho ovening was warm, llko the early summer In othor climates.; and Dom lnlck. walking slowly nnd watching the great yoilow Bphoro deepening In color ns it swam majestically upward, thought of evenings llko this in tho past when he hud been full of the joy of llfo and had gone forth In tho spirit of love and adventure. Tho determination to accept his fate which had been wiih him on his re turn from Antelope had of late been shaken by stirrings of rebellion. Up lifted by the thought of his love for a woman hopelessly removed from him, but who would always ho a lode star to worship reverently and to guide him up difficult paths, he had been able to face his domestic trag edy with tho high resolution of tho martyr. But this exalted condition was hard to maintain In the friction of dally life with Herny. To-night, tho period of ill humor seemed over. Herny was not only once again her nnlmnted self, sho was al most feverlahly garruloua. Kenrful .of angering hor, or, stU worse, of arousing her suspicions, Domlnlck boro her talk with all the "I'll Lie Dead In My Coffin fortitude ho had, but ho roso from the tabic with evory nervo tingling, rasped and galled to tho limit of endurance. He did not come Into the den Im mediately but roamed about, Into the parlor, down tho passage, nnd Into IiIb ow.n room. "Aron't you coming Into the den?" sho called, as alio heard him pacing atoadlly along tho passageway. "No," ho called back. "Tho moon light's Bhinlng in at evory window. It makes tno restless. I don't feel llko sitting still." Sho ant on tho dlvun, a paper spread boforo her face, but her eyea were slanted sldewlse, unblinking In tho ab sorption of her attention. Suddenly sho heard a rattling sound which sho know Jo -bo from tho canes nnd um brellas in the liat-mck. She cast awny the paper, and, drawing hersolf to tho edge of the dlvnn, peered down the passage. Domlnlck wns standing by tho hat-rack, his hat on tho back of his "head, hla hand feeling among tho canea. "You've got your hat on," sho called In a high key of surprise. "You're not going out?" "Yes, I am," ho answered, drawing out tho enno ho wanted. "It's a fine night, and I'm going for a walk." Outside, Domlnlck walked Blowly, keeping to the smaller and less fro nuonted streets. It was n wonderful night, as still as though the moon bad exerted sorao mesmeric Influence upon the earth. Ho walked on, skirting tho hollow, and moving forward through Btrcets where- old houses brooded In over grown gardens. That part of California Street which created tho hill was but a fow blocks beyond him, nnd beforo his mind would ncknowledgc It, his feet had borno him that way. Ho thought only to pass tho Cannon house, to look at Ub windows, and bco their lights. As It roso before him, a huge, palo mass checkered with shadows, tho longing to seo It tho outer shell that hid his heart's desire passed Into a keener, concentrated agitation that seemed to proas out from his soul llko a cry to her. Tho porch yawned black behind pil lars that In the daytime wore painted wood and now looked llko temple col umns wrought In marble. Dominlck'a glance, sweeping tho lines of yel lowed windows, finally rested on this cavern of shadow, and ho approached stealthily, as a robber might, hla body close to tho lrorr .fence. Almost be fore his eyea hnd told him, ho knew that a woman was attindlng there, leaning against the balustrade that stretched between the columns. A climbing rose spread In a mottling of durkneaa, over the wall beside hor Here nnd thero It wns starred with tho small white faces of blossoms. As the young man drew near sho leaned over tho balustrade, plucked ono of the blossoms, hnd, slowly shredding the leaves from the stem, stretched out her hnnd nnd let them fall, like a languid shower of silver drops, to the grass. Sho bent over the balustrade' to look at them, and In doing bo, her eye9 encountered the mnn below. For a moment they looked at each other without apeaklng, then sho snld, hor voice at tho lowest note that would reach him: "What ni'e you doing there?" "Watching you." "Have you been standing thero long?" "No, only a few minutes. Why are you pulling tho roses to pieces?" She gave a littlo laugh and said something that sounded like "I don't SF Before I'll Take Her Money." know," and moved back from the balustrade. Ho thought sho was going and clutched the Iron spikes of the fence, calling up to hor in a volco of urgent feeling, curiously out of keeping with the worda, the flrat remark that camo Into his head: "This is very different from Ante lope, isn't It?" "Yes," she said gravely, "wo had no moonlight there, nothing but storms and gray clouds. "Well, I must go in. The roses nro all picked and papa'll bo wondering where I am." It seemed to Domlnlck Just then that he could not lose her. She must Btay a moment longer. Urgency that waa Imploring was In his volco as he said: "Don't go! don't go! Stay Just ono moment longer! Can't you come down and talk for a minute?" She listened, wavered, and was won over. Without nnBwer she turned from tho shadow of the porch Into the light on the top of the steps, and from thero slowly descended, her skirt gathered In ono hund, and the othor touching tho baluster. "l'vo wnnted so to see you. I camo by to-night hoping that perhaps i could catch n glimpse of your shadow on tho curtnln. I didn't expect any thing llko this." He stopped, looking ut her, nnd not listening to tho few words of her an swer, "I think I wnnted you so that my will called you out," he said In an lm pasnloned whisper. Sho said nothing and suddenly his hand sought hers, clasped It tight on tho head of the lion, and ho whiskered again: "Oh, Rose, If I could seo you now and then only for a moment Ilk this." Ho felt her hand, smnll nnd cold, crush softly Inside his, and nlmost lm modlntiily waa conscious of her effort to withdraw It. Ho iiiBtnntly loosened his fingers, let hers slide from hi? grnBp, and drew back. "Good night," she Bald hurriedly, and without looking at him turned nnd went up the steps. It was a great morning for Cornelia. Sho was engaged. Two evenings be fore, Jnck Duffy, who hnd been hover lng round tho subject for a month, poised above It, as a hawk abovo de lighted prey, had at last descended and Cornelia's anxieties were at an end. The wind wns not yet out In force; Its full, steady sweep would not be Inaugurated till early In the afternoon. It came now In gusts which fell upon Cornelia from the back and accelerat ed her forward progress, throwing out on either Bldo of her a flapping sal' of skirt. It was after midday when she found herself npproachlng that particular block, along the edge of which the flower-venders placo their baskets and display their warca. The boj'B and men, seeing thnt tho brilliant lady was in a generous mood, collected about her. shouting out the excellence of their particular blossoms. Cornelia, amused and somewhat be wildered, looked at tho faces and bought recklessly. "Well, Cornelia, are you trying "to corner tho curb-stone market?" She wheeled swiftly and saw her brother. "Domlnlck!" sho exclaimed, "you'ra just the person I want to see. I wna going to write to you. I've got lot to tell you." "Come nlong then nnd take lunch with me. I waa on my way up to Hertrand'B when I buw you. They'll give us a good lunch there and you can tell me all your secrets." They walked up the street toward Bertrand's, a French restaurant which for years hod enjoyed tho esteem of tho city's gourmets. In tho restaurant they found a va cant table In a corner, nnd Cornelia had to bottle up her good news while Domlnlck pondered over the bill ol fare. She was Impatient and drummed on tho table with her fingers, while her eyea roamed about the room. Tho order given and the first stages of lunch appearing, Cornelia could at last claim her brother's ful' attention. "1 told you how awfully anxious I was to see you, and how 1 was going to write to you, didn't I?" Hor brother looked up and his eyo was caught by her rosily-blushing cheeks. "Dear me, Cornie," ho said with a look of slowly-dawning comprehen alon, "It renlly Isn't it really can'f be'" "And why can't It be?" looking very much hurt. "What's there so queer about that?" "Nothing, only I meant that I hadn't heard any rumors about it. Is lr that?" "Yes, It 18, Domlnlck nyan, and 1 don't see why you should be so sur prised." "Surprised! I'm moro than sur prised. I'm delighted haven't been so pleased for years. Who is It?" "Jack Duffy." ( "Oh, Cornie, that's the best yet!. That's great! It's splendid. I wish I could kiss you, but I can't here in the open restaurant. Why didn't you tell mo somewhere whore v.e would be alone? I'd just llko to glvo you a good hug." Cornelia leaned across tbo table and spoko with low-toned, almost tremu lous earnestness: "You know that If It wero I, I'd aBk your wife. You know that all tho hard feelings I may onco have had against her have gone. If It wero for mo to say, I'd havo received her from the start. What I've always said Is, 'What's the good of keeping up these fights? No one gets anything by them. They don't do any one any good.' But you know tnpmmer. The first thing she said when wo talked about tho house wedding, nnd I said you'd give me away, was, 'If he'll come without his wife.'" Thero wore tears in her eyes and Domlnlck saw them and looked down at his plato. "All right." he said quietly. "I'll come. When Is It to bo?" "Juno," snld the prospective bride, once more beginning to blush and beam, "early In June. Tho tobcs are so fine then, and we can have tho house bo beautifully decorated." With a scraping of chair legs, they roso and, threading their way among tho now crowded tables, passed out Into the wind-swept atreotB. Hero they separated, Cornelia, with her armful of wilting flowers, going home, and Domlnlck back to tho bank. Two hours later, while ho was still bonding over his books, In the hiiBhed seclusion of tho closed building, Hill Cnnnon waB talking to Horny In the parlor of tho Sacramento Street flat. Thla Interview was neither bo long, nnd (on Horny'a part) did not show tho self-rcBtralnt which har" marked tho first ono. Tho offer of ono hun dred thousand dollars which tho old man made her was refused with moro scorn and less courtesy then hnd lieen dUplnyed In her manner on the former occasion. (to nt: CONTINUED 1 -A. r.r